i am after information on my grandfather donald maclean ,all i know of him is that he was born on the isle of barra in the outer hebrides in approx 1898 and that he was a sailor and was swept overboard in a storm somewhere round the shetland islands probably in the late 1930's i know nothing of the vessel or the exact location , i would love to know how i can go about getting his service record and perhaps a photo of him . id like to know how i can go about getting his death certificate ? would it have been registered on one of the islands ?

His name is a common one, and his occupation is also - in relation to where he is from. In order to recognise your Donald, perhaps on a Service Record if a) one existed and b) it survived - it would be good to know a bit more about him

i am after information on my grandfather donald maclean ,all i know of him is that he was born on the isle of barra in the outer hebrides in approx 1898 and that he was a sailor and was swept overboard in a storm somewhere round the shetland islands probably in the late 1930's

Hi Kevin,

In order to progress you would be best order your mother's birth cert. to establish which Donald it is as your grandmother will be on it by her maiden name.

There is also a good site for Barra ............Barra's People - A Genealogical Interest Page

You may well have relatives still there & I'm sure your grandad's fate will have been remembered ???